Chapter 6: The Ninefold Profound Technique

Dijiang’s bluntness left Bai Jing momentarily unsure of how to respond.

Houtu, seeing the situation, quickly smoothed things over: "Fellow Daoist Bai Jing, my eldest brother has a rather straightforward temperament; please do not take offense. He..."

"Little sister, do not speak yet. Zhujiuyin, you say it!" Dijiang interrupted Houtu once again, designating Zhujiuyin to speak.

Zhujiuyin stepped forward and said, "Tens of thousands of years ago, when those two feathered birds of the Demon Race established their so-called Heavenly Court, our eldest brother immediately founded the Witch Race. That very night, I caught glimpses of fragments within the River of Time. These fragments showed our Witch Race and the Demon Race engaged in battle, as if they were mortal enemies, with countless clansmen falling as a result..."

"What! Those feathered birds in the Heavenly Court dare to strike against us? Are they not afraid that we will tear their Heavenly Court down?" Zhurong, the most hot-tempered of the Ancestral Witches, shouted viciously.

"Zhurong, shut your mouth. Do not interrupt Zhujiuyin," Dijiang chided.

It was evident that the other Ancestral Witches held great respect for Dijiang. Once admonished, Zhurong obediently fell silent.

Zhujiuyin continued, "Later, when our clansmen went hunting, they frequently encountered attacks from the Demon Race. The eldest brother and I both felt that the Demon Race was destined to be the greatest enemy of the Witch Race. For a time, we sent Great Witches to protect our weaker kin, which was also a precaution against the Demon Race. However, your appearance has made everything seem different. In the River of Time, the images of our battles with the Demon Race have diminished; in their place, I see our people cultivating the millet you introduced, and as a result, our casualties have significantly decreased."

Upon hearing Zhujiuyin’s words, Bai Jing was astonished. The world believed the Witch Race lacked primordial spirits and could not calculate the heavenly secrets, but it turned out the world was ignorant. The Witches indeed lacked primordial spirits and could not perform divination, but Zhujiuyin was the Ancestral Witch of Time! He could see fragments of the future within the River of Time. Of course, one could not rule out that these fragments were shown to them by someone else—after all, the waters of the Primordial World were unfathomably deep.

After Zhujiuyin finished, Dijiang added, "Young man, regardless of your reasons for helping the Witch Race, your appearance has indeed reduced our casualties. We owe you a favor. Is there anything you need our help with?"

Hearing this, Bai Jing understood: Dijiang had called him over to repay the favor. Yet, he had helped the Witch Race to settle his own karma with the Great God Pangu. If he accepted the Witch Race's gratitude, would that karma be considered repaid or not?

However, Bai Jing thought to himself that a single low-grade innate spiritual root would hardly be enough to fully repay the karma of Pangu. Moreover, as he worked to mend his own origin, he needed to enhance his physical strength to survive various crises. The best technique for strengthening the body was undoubtedly the "Nine-Turn Profound Technique" practiced by the Witch Race.

With this in mind, Bai Jing did not hesitate. He said to Dijiang, "Ancestor Witch Dijiang, I desire the Witch Race's 'Nine-Turn Profound Technique'."

"Young man, do you think our Witch Race's favor is so cheap?" Xuanming asked with a cold face.

"Fellow Daoist Bai Jing, the 'Nine-Turn Profound Technique' is no secret within our race; every member of the Witch Race can practice it," Houtu explained.

Bai Jing suddenly realized. In the novels about the Primordial World he had read in his past life, the "Nine-Turn Profound Technique" was of immense weight; it seemed he had been led by his own preconceptions. Since every Witch could practice it, it was not as precious as he had imagined.

"Young man, you want the 'Nine-Turn Profound Technique' to temper your physique, right?" Dijiang asked.

Bai Jing nodded.

"If that is the case, besides the 'Nine-Turn Profound Technique', I will give you a drop of my essence blood and a mass of blood from the Blood Pool. How is that for repaying your favor?"

The Ancestral Witches were shocked. Zhujiuyin quickly said, "Eldest brother, your essence blood is so precious, you..."

"Say no more. Our Witch Race does not have the habit of owing others favors."

With Dijiang having spoken, the other Ancestral Witches could say nothing more. As for Bai Jing, he would certainly not refuse. With a drop of an Ancestral Witch's essence blood and blood from the Blood Pool, his physical strength would surely improve by leaps and bounds!

After leaving the Pangu Palace, Bai Jing borrowed a place from Houtu to enter seclusion. He intended to begin practicing the "Nine-Turn Profound Technique" and, at the same time, absorb Dijiang's essence blood and the mass of blood from the Blood Pool. With the "Spirit Devouring Art," Bai Jing estimated that about ten thousand years would be enough for the cultivation and transformation.

As for the second sermon at Zixiao Palace, there were still twenty thousand years left. Bai Jing told Houtu that they could travel together. Having helped the Witch Race greatly, and with the other Ancestral Witches deciding not to attend—leaving only Houtu—having a companion on the road was a good thing for her, so she readily agreed.

Having made the arrangements with Houtu, Bai Jing began his seclusion to practice the "Nine-Turn Profound Technique." The "Nine-Turn Profound Technique" was a part of Pangu's "Nine-Turn Profound Origin Technique." Each of the nine turns corresponded to a level of physical mastery: the first turn for the Heavenly Immortal realm, the second for True Immortal, the third for Golden Immortal, the fourth for Taiyi, the fifth for Daluo, the sixth for Hunyuan Golden Immortal, the seventh for Hunyuan Daluo Golden Immortal, the eighth for Hunyuan Taiji Daluo Golden Immortal, and the ninth for Hunyuan Wuji Daluo Golden Immortal, which was the physical embodiment of the Heavenly Dao.

Bai Jing spent ten thousand years completing the fifth turn of the "Nine-Turn Profound Technique," refining his body anew. His previous Daluo-level physique had been built by consuming various ores on Yingzhou Immortal Island and was not entirely perfect; under the refinement of the "Nine-Turn Profound Technique," all previous hidden flaws were eliminated.

Subsequently, Bai Jing consumed the mass of blood from the Blood Pool, simultaneously running both the "Spirit Devouring Art" and the "Nine-Turn Profound Technique." The essence of the blood was refined by the "Spirit Devouring Art," the impurities were purged by the purifying power of the White Lotus of Purity, and the refined essence was absorbed and integrated into his body by the "Nine-Turn Profound Technique."

A thousand years passed in the blink of an eye. The blood had been fully absorbed, and Bai Jing's physical strength was now comparable to that of an expert in the mid-stage of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. The first sermon at Zixiao Palace had focused on the Dao of Daluo, and currently in the Primordial World, excluding Hongjun and the great powers who had survived the previous calamity, the peak of Daluo was the limit. Bai Jing's physique, comparable to a mid-stage Daluo Golden Immortal, was no longer at the bottom among the three thousand guests at Zixiao Palace.

Bai Jing's cultivation did not stop there. He flipped his right hand, and a drop of blood radiating powerful energy appeared—it was Dijiang's essence blood. Bai Jing swallowed it, and the vast energy instantly exploded. Feeling as if his body were about to burst, he hurriedly operated his techniques, consuming and purifying the energy within the essence blood.

It took him two thousand years to refine most of the essence within Dijiang's blood, but Bai Jing discovered a thread of terrifying bloodline essence that was extremely difficult to refine. He guessed this must be a strand of Pangu's own essence blood; as the twelve Ancestral Witches were formed from Pangu's essence, it was natural that their own blood contained his legacy. To refine this final thread of essence, Bai Jing spent another two thousand-plus years.